Getting down to business

Sunset takes advantage of three forfeits to beat Beaverton and go to 2-0

BEAVERTON - For Sunset, last week's win over Beaverton meant more than just another Metro League win.

The Apollos, who beat the Beavers 49-27 at Beaverton High School on Dec. 8, also saw the win as an early marker in what they hope will be a successful 2011-12 campaign. Indeed, the victory left the Apollos at 2-0 in league competition for the first time in a very long time.

'We were definitely looking for a win. I don't remember the last time we were 2-0 starting off so it feels really good,' said Sunset senior 285-pounder Stephen Hordes, who won by fall against Beaverton. 'I think we have a pretty good shot to do well in the region this year.'

'I think we can have a pretty good year,' agreed senior 138-pounder Jacob Morello, who also won by pin for the Apollos. 'We have a lot of young guys, but we have a lot of potential on the team, and I think we can develop that over the season.'

Beaverton, meanwhile, moved to 2-2 in Special District 1 competition, and consoled itself with the knowledge that its 21-point loss included 18 points in forfeits.

'We did pretty good except for the forfeits we had,' said Beaverton senior

Travis Johnson, who won a tough decision at 132 pounds. 'If we have a full lineup, I think we could be pretty good.'

'Most of the problem was grades - there were a lot of guys that couldn't wrestle,' added Beaverton junior Matt Kim, a winner by fall at 160.

The Apollos opened their match at Beaverton with three straight victories, getting a second-round pin by Grant Bingham over Erick Navaro at 106 pounds, then forfeits by Hayden Stockwell and Luke Batten at 113 and 120 to grab an early 18-0 lead.

The Beavers answered with a pair of wins, with Torben Billow pinning Jacob Speirs at 3:12 in their match at 126, and Johnson following up with a 9-6 win over Zarin Lucero at 132 to cut the Apollo lead to 18-9.

'I wrestled pretty good but I was tired - I've got to do some more conditioning,' Johnson said. 'I wrestled (Lucero) as a sophomore too. I beat him both times, but I think I wrestled better this time.'

Sunset put the brakes on Beaverton's momentum, then and there, however, winning the next three weight classes in succession to extend their lead to 31-9. Morello started that streak with a second-round pin over Bailey Berg at 138 pounds, teammate Nathan Burnett followed with a 16-6 major decision over Justin Wakem at 145, and Jeremiah Ross capped that streak with a hard-fought 11-8 decision over Barkley Saltsman at 152.

'I'm very happy with it,' Morello said of his win over Berg. 'I basically just tried to do what I'm best at, do whatever works and then adapt to what he gives me.'

The Beavers won three of the next five weights - all by pins - but couldn't quite close the gap and catch the Apollos.

Kim got things started with a pin of Jeff Tordjman 41 seconds into the second round of their match at 160, Ed Wahedi followed with a 48-second stop against Cole Abernathy at 182, and Ed Zaragosa then added a second-round pin of Alex Betancourt at 220 for Beaverton's last win.

'I think I wrestled well. I just stuck to my technique,' Kim said. 'I beat him last year too, but he kind of changed it up so I had to go with that. He gave up on the bottom and I went for it and I got it.'

Sunset, however, won again at 170, 195 and 285 pounds, with Jason Allgower pinning Nick Houlemard in 1:33 at 170, Kevin Luttrell taking a forfeit at 195, and Hordes stopping Beaver freshman Anibal Gonzales with one second left in the opening round of their match at 285.

'They said he was pretty good as a middle schooler, but middle school to high school is a big transition,' Hordes said. 'I pretty much have a game plan of what I want to do and I stick with it.'

To see a complete photo gallery from this match, please go to www.milesvance.exposuremanager.com.